With an economy on the mends, deep fundamental economic problems continuing to be a problem and organizations not innovating as aggressively as they have in the past, we were not quite sure what Realcomm 2011 would look like. We always go into the conference with high expectations but recent years have taught us to be cautiously optimistic. Despite the uncertainty the conference turned out better than expected.

The following is a brief summary of this year's conference highlights:

The quality of the attendees were extraordinary. There was high level representation by many of the country's top real estate companies

Innovation is back! The Big Idea Showcase highlighted some of the most innovative ideas we have seen in years

GSA/PBS is leading the charge on Intelligent Buildings with their Fast 50 Project

IT Professionals Involvement in Intelligent Infrastructure is no longer "if" but rather "when"

PM/FM and IT will be tightly integrated in the property team of the future

The multitude of business solutions found in a real estate firm are slowly being woven into an integrated enterprise

Major new solution providers showed up looking to service the large emerging opportunity around intelligent buildings

Companies brought their teams from property management, facilities, leasing, finance as well as other executive leadership

The best practices came from around the world and a multitude of international markets were represented

We would like to thank everyone who made Realcomm 2011 an extraordinary success. This event would not be possible without the endless support of our chairman, advisory council, solutions providers and attendees who all came prepared to contribute to our industry. Together we are making our industry more efficient, competitive, profitable and successful.

2011 Digie Award Winners

We are also proud to announce the 2011 Digie Award Winners!! Each year, Realcomm presents the most innovative real estate companies, individuals, and solution providers with the prestigious Digie Award. This award is designed to recognize the most forward-thinking leaders in commercial real estate who are making the greatest impact through the use of technology and automation.